Page 16 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

Ion looked at his bear, lost in thought, then took a deep breath as if steeling himself for torture. “All right. I don’t want him to be afraid.”

“I’ll come, too, if that’s okay. I can help make sure BooBoo Bear is nice and clean.”And you, too, little boy.The last, she did not say aloud.

Climbing from bed she was grateful that she had thought to put on the long silky wrap Taeger had provided for her after their shower. She reached for Ion’s hand and led him to the showers. After a few minutes of washing the grime out of the little boy’s hair toshow his bear there’s nothing to be afraid of,Cassie gently took the bear from Ion and rubbed a small amount of soap into the rough, patchy fur. This bear had seen better days.

“BooBoo Bear is very special. He is being very brave.” Cassie used her fingertips to gently massage what was left of the bear’s fur. In some places, the toy was nearly threadbare. In others, soft, lush fur that felt like faux mink slid through her fingers like wet silk. Ion stood next to her every second and did not take his eyes off his precious friend.

“Cuz I’m here. And I promised him I would never leave him. And a promise is a promise.”

Cassie smiled despite her soaking wet clothing. When she was done with the bear, she quickly rinsed him the best she could, then wrapped boy and bear alike in what passed for a towel on this ship. As she carried the boy and his bear to the clothing area, Ion rubbed BooBoo Bear’s head. “See? You are nice and clean, BooBoo. Just like me.”

“Just like you. And you were both so brave.” She remembered being a small child, actually terrified of the loud, swirling toilet when it flushed. And that was quiet compared to the shower system on this ship.

“I wasn’t scared,” Ion insisted. “BooBoo Bear needed me. I was his protector, like a real ‘Umerian.” He grinned up at her. “Just like Uncle Taegie.”

That made her smile so wide her face hurt. “Just like Uncle Taegie.” Taeger, the strong, fierce lover who’d made her come over and over just hours ago? Whose touch made her lose her mind and all control? God, yes. She wanted to see him again. Touch him again. Where was he, anyway? When Ion woke her up, she’d been alone.

“Let’s get dried off and go find him. What do you say?”

Ion nodded his head with enthusiasm and Cassie handed him a smaller towel for his bear. “Here, buddy. You dry off BooBoo Bear while I take a quick shower myself. All right? Can you wait right here? I promise I’ll be fast.”

Ion nodded and took the towel, already focused on his furry toy. With a sigh, Cassie stepped into the shower, clothes and all, shimmied out of the wet cloak, shirt and pants she’d found on Mora Five, and washed quickly. She’d had nothing else to wear when she woke up, so she’d donned the only set of clothing she had, dirt and sludge included.

Washing vigorously, she picked out a shampoo that had a nice fragrance. She couldn’t quite place the scent and realized it couldn’t be anything from Earth. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply. Mmm. Similar to vanilla, but with an edge. She’d love to know what it was. The people of Earth would probably go crazy for it, she mused. She didn’t know when she’d get the chance to shower again, especially once she got to Mora Five. Which had to be her first priority. Charlie was injured and now that she knew about the Maju water, she needed to get some to him as soon as possible.

And then there was Smith. Cassandra didn’t actually know his real name. She apparently didn’t have high enough clearance for that information, so she’d nicknamed him “Agent Smith”, since he reminded her of that character fromThe Matrix. Dark suit. Dark glasses. Never cracked a smile. Stone cold. The rest of her crew quickly shortened his name to Smith. He stayed behind to tend Charlie and watch over their cargo. She hoped they were both still alive, still hiding in that ravine she’d managed to steer their crashing ship into.

They had to be. Earth’s survival depended on the successful completion of this mission. The intelligence community and the military knew the Caldorians were keeping secrets from their humanallieson Earth. Big secrets. Dangerous secrets.

So what did she do? She picked up the package, got shot down, captured by the nastiest, most terrifying creatures she’d ever seen, and then she’d had sex with one of the Caldorians. If she were a real spy, she’d use his interest to her advantage and try to get information out of him. But she wasn’t a spy. She was a soldier. A pilot. She took orders and did what needed to be done. She was no master at interrogation. Hell, she wasn’t even good at snooping around. Or lying. And the truth was, she liked Taeger. A lot more than she should.

Flipping her long hair over one shoulder, she thought about the way he’d touched her. Stroked her. Made her scream his name. The more she tried to stop thinking about him, the less she could control her thoughts. Her body caught fire just thinking about him. He was so big. Strong. Dominant and attentive to her every need. Her nipples hardened just remembering how attentive he’d been to them.

Worse, she wanted more sex with him. A lot more. Yearned for it. “Brilliant, Captain. Just fucking brilliant.”

“Cassie!” Ion’s call pulled her from her fugue and she turned off the spray and quickly dried off. Reaching an arm through the opening, she quickly grabbed another cloth from the shelf, hurriedly wrapping it around herself like a sarong. Luckily it was large and hung down to her mid-calf. Stepping out, she joined Ion and helped him do the same.

“Does BooBoo Bear need clothes, too?”

Ion shook his head. “No. He likes to be naked.”

“Okay.” She hid her grin as she accepted the bear’s small towel from Ion. She finger combed his damp hair and laughed when his stomach rumbled. “Hungry?”

“Yes. But I want Uncle Taegie.” The boy cradled the bear on his lap and burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?”

Ion held up the bear and Cassie pulled the boy close for a hug. BooBoo Bear’s leg was falling off, the seam ripped to the very edge, the little leg hanging on by two or three individual threads.

“I want Uncle Taegie.” Ion’s tears tugged at her heart. Poor baby. He’d just been through hell and now his teddy bear was falling apart.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find him, and we’ll fix BooBoo Bear’s leg. Okay?”

Ion nodded and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along as he made his way through the ship. He obviously knew exactly where he was going, because within minutes she was standing on the edge of a small room, obviously some kind of control or operational center, and Taeger stood with the one called Greig, one of those holographic star systems hovering in the air in front of them. She recognized it at once.

“That’s Earth.”

Taeger look up and when his gaze met hers, every part of her body went on high alert. God, why did he have to be so damn gorgeous? He was Caldorian. A secret-keeper. The enemy. Well, if not the enemy, then a questionable ally.

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